The real bear that inspired A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books was brought to Wiltshire in 1914 by Canadian soldier Harry Colbourn. Colbourn, a vet in the Canadian Armed Veterinary Corps, was stationed on Salisbury Plain during the First World War and brought the female bear, named Winnie, as the regimental mascot.
According to Colbourn's great-granddaughter, Lindsay Mattick, he bought the cub to be a mascot and named her Winnipeg, or Winnie for short, to be a source of joy for his fellow soldiers. When the soldiers went to France, Winnie was moved to London Zoo.
Gyles Brandreth, a friend of Milne's son Christopher Robin Milne, stated that Christopher Robin visited Winnie at the zoo and named his teddy bear after her. Winnie was popular with visitors at the zoo, and Colbourn decided to let her stay there when he returned to take her back to Canada. Winnie lived at London Zoo until she died in 1934 at the age of 20.
Winnie's skull is currently on temporary display at the Royal College of Surgeons’ Hunterian Museum. Carina Phillips from the museum said that Winnie lost her teeth around three years before she died, possibly due to her diet, which included sugary buns and condensed milk with treacle.